Editor’s Note: With 2014 now upon us, RCR Wireless News has gathered predictions from leading industry analysts and executives on what they expect to see in the new year.
Connected car: Replaceable SIMs will move towards fruition
In 2014, the connected car model will move closer towards making removable, replaceable modules – subscriber identification modules – a reality. This technology will enable each and every connected vehicle to keep up with the latest technology and applications.
SIMs provide the ability to easily upgrade a vehicle’s technology during a standard automobile service visit. Everyone – automakers, operators and car owners – will win when cars are able to easily keep up with new generations of technology.
Some of the ways removable, replaceable modules would benefit the connected car ecosystem include:
–Automakers will be able to easily upgrade their latest car models’ network connectivity and avoid being locked into legacy networks that eventually will be turned off by operators.
–Operators will be able to maintain revenue streams as car owners have the capacity to upgrade and continue to use networks in their cars.
LTE will become the global standard for M2M networks in 2014
–4G/LTE will strengthen its position at the go-to network for machine-to-machine applications.
–2G will remain steady and strong.
–3G will be slowly fading as customers with high bandwidth requirements focus on 4G.
2G will hold on to its position as a proven standard for M2M applications that don’t require a lot of bandwidth (e.g., asset tracking, fleet management). This may not be a surprise as Sprint and T-Mobile US have both demonstrated their commitment to 2G. And although AT&T has announced it plans to shut down its 2G offering, the migration to LTE will take until 2017 to complete.
4G/LTE networks will gain considerable traction moving forward because of the greater bandwidth it offers. This level of network connectivity has the capacity to service M2M verticals that require a large amount of bandwidth. Connected car infotainment and digital signage are two such services. M2M video services also are better served by LTE because of that network’s ability to better leverage its spectrum efficiencies.
With today’s M2M applications benefiting most from the lower-end capacity of 2G or the higher-end bandwidth of LTE, 3G will continue its fade into M2M obsolescence, as evidenced in part by Verizon Wireless’ plans to shut down its 3G network.
M2M platforms: Bring on the bells-and-whistles in 2014
Spurred by last year’s trend of consolidation in the M2M sector along with advances in technology and mainstream acceptance of machine communications, 2014 is poised to be the “year of the M2M platform.”
Both scope and scale will become increasing critical to the long-term success of M2M providers. As M2M platforms mature, they will evolve from wholesale status to sophisticated, integrated elements of an end-to-end offering that provides enterprises with the ability to quickly scale; gives them a choice of connectivity options; offers a flexible, rich application and feature set; and allows for easy client control of the full M2M solution.
Additional must-haves for M2M platforms in 2014 will include the ability to easily incorporate new features and applications, provide businesses with a customized dashboard that can monitor and analyze its deployed M2M assets and connected devices, and offer more dynamic data analytics that are easily generated through online customer portals.
M2M will gain momentum as an enterprise revenue center
Where enterprises once only looked to M2M technology for its capacity to save money via reduced costs and increased efficiencies, more businesses in 2014 will recognize and take advantage of M2M’s potential as a new revenue stream. This will happen in the following ways:
–Sales of connected devices – As the types of devices with embedded connectivity expand beyond tablets and e-readers, and as more consumers become more comfortable with machine communications, businesses will quickly move to take advantage of this direct revenue potential.
–Value-added services and applications – As M2M platforms allow the ability to offer more features and become easier to use, businesses will find users are more than willing to pay recurring charges for premium services.
–Business intelligence – As M2M moves beyond the simple sharing of raw information as devices get smarter and gains the ability to process more data at faster speeds, enterprises will take advantage of M2M’s increasingly robust analytical ability as a basis to make informed business decisions as well as derive revenue from monetizing collected data and its analysis.
John Horn joined Raco Wireless as president in May 2011 after serving as a leader at T-Mobile for more than nine years. Since joining Raco Wireless, Horn has led the company to record growth and achievement of multiple awards for accomplishments in M2M. Prior to T-Mobile, Horn has served as a manager, director and VP of other telecom companies for more than 24 years. Horn earned a degree in Political Science from the University of California at Davis.
